DETROIT – A new report says job demand for advanced manufacturing occupations has increased by 13 percent over the past year, and by 63 percent over the past four years, with nearly 33,000 job postings in the second quarter of 2017.
The new report from Detroit-based LIFT – Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow – shows 2017 is tracking to be the eighth consecutive year of employment growth with over 700,000 Michigan workers employed in lightweighting-related occupations – the greatest employment level since 2006.
The quarterly reports, highlighting the employment trends, top jobs, and required skills in advanced manufacturing through Q2 2017, are completed with research and analysis from the Workforce Intelligence Network of Southeast Michigan (WIN) and cover LIFT’s initial region, including Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, home to more than 50 percent of the metalworking jobs in the country.
The top in-demand lightweighting-related occupations in Michigan in Q2 2017 were: Maintenance and Repair Workers (3,798 postings), Laborers and Freight, Stock and Material Movers (2,996 postings), Mechanical Engineers (2,045 postings), Electrical Engineers (1,746 postings) and Production Workers (1,830 postings).
“While we continue to see manufacturing employment levels rise, it is critically important to ensure we are preparing students and incumbent workers with the right knowledge, skills and abilities to keep our manufacturing industrial base solid and our national security strong,” said Emily DeRocco, education and workforce director, LIFT.
The full Michigan report can be viewed at: http://lift.technology/education-workforce-development/.
